Iridium Communications (NASDAQ: IRDM) saw its stock price surge 5.53% in pre-market trading on Wednesday following the release of its first-quarter 2025 financial results and earnings call. The satellite communications company reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue, while also providing a positive outlook for the year ahead.

Key highlights from Iridium's Q1 2025 results include: - Revenue increased 5.4% year-over-year to $214.9 million - Net income rose 55% to $30.4 million - Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.28, up from $0.16 in Q1 2024 - Operational EBITDA grew 6% to $122.1 million - Commercial IoT revenue increased 11% to $43.8 million

During the earnings call, CEO Matthew Desch expressed confidence in Iridium's business prospects and growth opportunities. The company maintained its full-year guidance for both service revenue growth of 5-7% and operational EBITDA between $490 million and $500 million. Iridium also announced plans to increase its quarterly dividend to $0.15 per share starting in Q3 2025, reflecting management's confidence in continued strong free cash flow generation.

Investors were particularly encouraged by Iridium's progress in emerging areas such as IoT, position navigation and timing (PNT) services, and direct-to-device (D2D) capabilities. The company's acquisition of Satelles has positioned it well in the PNT market, with growing interest from new customers. Additionally, Iridium's upcoming NTN Direct service is expected to complement regional D2D solutions and drive material revenue growth through the end of the decade.